UK working conditions toolkit

Welcome to the third edition of our toolkit to support better wellbeing at work for social workers in the UK. First published in 2020, this toolkit has been updated and rewritten in parts to be a contemporary, relevant resource to inspire and guide change in  working conditions and wellbeing of social workers across the UK. 

The toolkit is based on evidence from recent research into social workers’ experiences and calls for change. Social workers in the UK consistently report significantly poorer workplace wellbeing than most occupations using comparative measures (Ravalier 2023).  

The social work sector in the UK has woken up to the necessity for change since the earlier editions of the toolkit. This has come from the voice of social workers being heard more clearly in research and other forms of evidence. It also come from wider  acceptance of the negative impact on service quality and sustainability of the workforce, particularly in the wake of the Covid pandemic. An example of this has been concern  about the numbers of more experienced social workers leaving jobs or quitting the profession all together, often citing stress and burnout, depleting the richness of experience and practice wisdom in teams. 

The pandemic period also brought about an increase in sector discussions about wellbeing in the face of extraordinary personal and professional challenges of those years and changes in ways of working during that period. Having working conditions that support wellbeing is now more recognised as a tangible entitlement and necessity, not a ‘nice to have’.

Social workers are increasingly speaking out directly about the need for change, the need for better support, professional development, career opportunities, reflective supervision, respect and better terms and conditions.

Based on the evidence we have gathers (see summary in Chapter two) we have identified 12 key changes to improve social workers’ working conditions and wellbeing. These are:

1. Better access to Continuing Professional Development
2. Ongoing career opportunities 
3. Effective professional supervision and other forms of support and reflection e.g. mentoring, coaching, peer support
4. Support for wellbeing and self-care at work
5. Protection from harm and support to recover from work related trauma 
6. Enough social workers and manageable workloads 
7. Enough time to work directly with people – relationship-based practice
8. Good quality management and role clarity
9. Fit for purpose technology and digital skills 
10. Effective leadership 
11. Positive, inclusive workplaces, free from bullying, harassment and discrimination

The twelve changes are not in priority order in this list and they inevitably interrelate and are interdependent. For instance, good management and role clarity are underpinnings of preventing and tackling bullying, harassment and discrimination; access to Continuing Professional Development is a foundation for career development and also links to learning through reflective supervision, mentoring and coaching.

Each organisation will have its own priorities and no one should feel intimidated or overwhelmed by the number of factors. What this list does is deliberately highlight the importance of promoting better wellbeing through a perspective that is holistic, systemic and integrated: 

• Holistic: in that the factors that impact on wellbeing are understood to be interconnected and interdependent, and each needs to be understood in the context of the whole
• Systemic : in that not only are factors interconnected, small or big changes in one part of the human system that is a workplace can have knock on effects across the system, intended and unintended, positive and negative. Even small changes can have a big impact.
• Integrated : in that actions for social work wellbeing need to be embedded in the culture and practices of the whole organisation so they are sustained for the long term

As so many factors have been identified as needing attention, they require the contribution and empowerment of diverse actors, including social workers themselves. Too often, tools for organisational and culture improvements are aimed at managers and leaders. This toolkit is aimed equally as practitioners and all the other relevant contributors. 

The change we want in social worker wellbeing should benefit all with a stake in the services – and most particularly people using them.

This toolkit is part of the joint UK Working Conditions campaign for change being run by BASW and the Social Workers Union from June 2025. 

is a UK campaign that will be delivered at both UK and four nation level, responding to the specific issues amongst social work communities and employing organisations in each country and political jurisdiction. 

This edition of the toolkit provides resources and ideas that can be used in workplaces to shape improvements, particularly in relation to the twelve key changes that our campaign and the evidence proposes.   It will be an operational resource that supports the BASW SWU campaign to surface and tackle issues and empower all involved to act for long term change. 

It aims to energise and encourage action and to support long term and sustainable change in social worker wellbeing for good. It is a practical and evidence-informed resource for all within the social work sector to help make cultural, operational and professional shifts to improve working lives and put the profession on a sounder footing for the future. 

While the toolkit is focused on social workers’ wellbeing, it’s ultimate aim is to ensure social work is effective – able to provide excellent services, supporting and empowering people to improve their lives. Our underpinning ethos is that better working conditions and wellbeing at work are the basis for better practice and better experiences for people using services.

This toolkit is aimed as much at social workers as it is aimed at managers, supervisors, educators and leaders. Social work professionals have agency in bringing about change, they are not passive recipients or onlookers to organisational developments. 

It is aimed at: 

• Social workers in practice – employed, contracted or independent
• Supervisors and practice leaders
• Managers and organisational leaders in all employing or contracting contexts
• Educators and researchers
• Policy makers 
• Others directly involved in or developing and supporting social work in diverse work contexts. 

Our approach starts from the position that social workers (in direct practice and other roles) are professionals who should be heard, respected, enabled to have positive impact on the conditions in which they work and have a professional responsibility to look after their own wellbeing. 

Managers, supervisors, leaders and others have responsibilities to provide the infrastructure and organisational approaches for better working conditions.  The tool provides guidance for senior staff and locates this in the need for ‘whole system’, collective efforts for improvement to promote better practices, outcomes and workforce stability.

The toolkit is in distinct chapters that can be read in sequence, out of sequence or used as standalone resources.  They provide ideas related to the 12 key changes proposed for better wellbeing and emphasise the need for holistic change that recognises the interrelationship between factors. They include practical guidance, exercises for individual or team/organisational use, and  further resources available from BASW and SWU and from others working in this field.

This resource is part of a collective endeavour in our sector to bring about change. Use it to spark innovation and action. The key message throughout is that even small changes - by anyone in the workplace - can bring about meaningful change.